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5 Warning Signs Merchants Need to Know About Scammy Discount Programs

By Access DevelopmentBlog.accessdevelopment.com

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Businesses receive an endless string of phone solicitations for marketing services.

Many of them are for discount programs.

A lot of those discount programs are scammy, and can hurt your business.

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The next time a discount program calls you in search of a free offer, look for these five warning signs:

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Some programs simply want the deepest offer they can possibly get out of you, even if a public BOGO offer won’t work for your bottom line.

INFLEXIBILITY ON COUPON TERMS.1

Choose a partner that can help you hone in on offers that will allure customers and drive company profitability. Keep in mind, most digital coupon platforms can change offers at any time.

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A coupon should work within the existing point of sale system, whether that’s through scanning bar codes or simply presenting a printed offer or mobile coupon.

CHANGES TO YOUR CURRENT POINT OF SALE TECHNOLOGY AND PROCESS.

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Merchants should back away from anyone looking to sell an expensive scanner or register just to be able to accept coupons.

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3NO INFORMATION ON WHO WILL HAVE ACCESS TO THE OFFER. Big crowds are great, but many small businesses won’t be able to handle swarms of crowds coming in with a publicly available BOGO offer. In fact, such a swarm can crush a business’ long-term viability.

Every program should be able to tell you who their primary members are.

In general, we recommend limiting your audience to memberships in order to drive new business without cannibalizing existing business that is willing to pay retail.

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4MONEY TO PARTICIPATE OR REVENUE ON EACH TRANSACTION. Merchants are the product that comprises discount programs, and consumer memberships to those programs are generally sold for profit.

The merchant’s investment into the program should rarely extend beyond a quality offer that people will want to take advantage of.

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NO FEEDBACK CHANNELS. Every program should offer a way for a merchant to ask questions, air issues and provide feedback.

Again, the discount program product doesn’t survive without merchants, and those merchants should have the ability to provide feedback and complaints to the program.

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Discount programs provide a great way to reach new audiences without the pressure and unprofitable crowds that come from daily deals and public-facing coupons.

But like any marketing channel, they have to be vetted before you commit to making a deal.

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Read the full post at http://j.mp/5signs_dps

Offer a discount with America’s largest private discount network for free.

Visit http://merchants.accessdevelopment.com to enroll today.